Shetland

Episode oneLike ‘Vera’ before it, this crime thriller based on an Ann Cleeves novel trades ruthlessly and very effectively on its location. The Shetland portrayed here is a forbidding place of mysterious traditions and grey skies, but also of fiercely close-knit community. But when Douglas Henshall’s local copper Jimmy Perez (performed with the actor’s characteristic quiet authority) investigates the murder of an aged crofter near an archaeological dig, he uncovers a welter of resentments, buried secrets and family feuds.

It’s proficiently handled, and the insights into Shetland history (especially the wartime resistance movements) add a much-needed splash of colour. But all the braw, bricht, moonlicht nichts in the world can’t disguise what is, at its root, a fairly workaday policier. Concludes tomorrow.